Government has cut housebuilding ‘off at the knees’, say opposition MPs

Writing in the Guardian, shadow chancellor Ed Balls and shadow housing minister Jack Dromey accuse the coalition government of a disastrous housebuilding policy which has contributed to the lowest economic recovery in a century and the biggest housing crisis in a generation.

The Government is accused of failing to pair its housebuilding announcements with commitments to significant investment.

Ahead of today’s Budget announcement, Balls and Dromey urge the Government to consider a stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers and the creation of a housing ISA, designed to promote saving for a deposit.

VAT on home repairs, maintenance and improvements should be cut to 5 per cent as part of a wider commitment to infrastructure investment.

I saw the first snowdrops earlier this week and wondered if this was the start of an early spring. Certainly the thaw in lending continues apace with a very busy February for our brokers and appointed reps in Mortgage Intelligence. For the first time you can make an argument that remaining on SVR is not […]

The UK is ending what has been its slowest economic recovery on record with a marked acceleration in growth. Neptune’s forecast for UK GDP growth in 2014 is 2.5 per cent, up from 2013 growth of 1.8 per cent as estimated by the Office for National Statistics. When considering the changing UK macro outlook, three important questions remain: